HAVE YOU WONDERED WHAT'S IN YOUR MAKEUP AND SKINCARE PRODUCTS?...

I was not quite shocked when I began truly digging...and I don't like what I've found either! I did think however that I was beyond important to share with others what I've learned, as many of us may have no idea what is actually contained in the skincare and beauty products we use daily. Of course who could even understand half of the ingredients listed with most of the scientific names unpronounceable?!

There have been numerous FDA alerts for example in regards to many ingredients that are still currently in our beauty products here in the US and those that are imported as well. One recently issued by the FDA is for Eye Makeup products like kohl, kajal, al-kahl, or surma that are usually utilized for Eyeline. The reason for this alert being issued is due to the fact that these product can often contain lead! Lipstick is not immune from containing detectable levels of lead too- a 2007 report by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics(CSC) determined that more than 1/2 of the 33 brand-name lipsticks tested had detectable levels of lead of up to .65 parts per million.

NONE of these brands and lipsticks however listed lead as part of the ingredient list. There has been another recent FDA alert issued about skin creams, beauty soaps, and lotions that are normally marketed as skin lighteners and anti-aging treatments and they may contain toxic levels of mercury- look for the words "mercurous chloride", "calomel" or "mercuric" and stop using the product immediately! With all of these alerts and warnings issued, it's not difficult to see that one can feel quite uneasy.

There are steps that you can take to prevent these products from landing in your beauty regimen: start with solid and sound research- the FDA site is a good place to begin! Next, stick with safe places to purchase your products and go with brands that you know are backed by real quality and organizations like the Organic Trade Association, UMF, and the USDA. There is another option that I've come across too- the Think Dirty App :) This unique tech approach makes finding those safe skincare and beauty products an absolute breeze! Check out my review of the app below...

think dirty app review:

Founder Lily Tse started out on her own personal journey to try to get an understanding of the beauty industry. Because of her family history of cancer, she chose to specifically target "toxic" ingredients in personal care and cosmetic products! She found this to be a much bigger challenge than expected when trying to find safer alternatives.

Lily decided that since there wasn't really a tool out there to address these concerns for consumers to find all of this important information easily, she would develop- and create one! That's how Think Dirty was formed. In 2012, the app won the "It's a Start Competition Grand Prize by Digifest Toronto and launched officially in 2013 with more than 68,300 products listed. It's currently only available as an iTunes download, but there should hopefully be a release for Android devices in the near future.

Now, there's over 205,000 products that are listed in the app's database so there have been quite a few more additions since it began 2 years ago. The Dirty Meter is unique as it gives a comprehensive rating with fairly detailed information on the product's ingredients, certifications {like FDA,USDA}, and health impacts- if any. The Barcode scanner will also help with UPC submissions too if the product isn't listed in Think Dirty's database and they will look into it, with an updated notification once it's been inserted into the apps database!

You can save your FAV products to your "Shopping Lists" so that you can grab them for later when ready for purchase or you can choose to "Buy it Now" and purchase your items directly from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca as well. Want to keep track of products you already own?! Learn about your current rating via the "My Bathroom Rating" and even track your progress by the "cleaning it up" feature.

This is a GREAT app and I'd recommend this to ANYONE that wants to be aware of the beauty and skincare product their family and they use themselves use! The BEST part is that it's also FREE...yeah that's right- it's totally FREE and doesn't cost a cent. I'd say that's fantastic considering the wonderful service this app provides :)